Activities of Oreste ROSSI related to 2012/2104(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT on improving the delivery of benefits from EU environment measures: building confidence through better knowledge and responsiveness PDF (177 KB) DOC (123 KB)
Amendments (26)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
-having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘Towards a 7th Environment Action Programme: better implementation of EU environment law’ __________________ 1 CdR 1119/2012
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas non-compliance, non- harmonised standards and the absence of legal milestones inevitably lead to the following problems in relation to the implementation of European environment law: - failure to transpose directives properly, or at all; - lack of compliance with fundamental secondary obligations under directives; - structural problems arising from a lack of information about environmental legislation; - lack of coordination between administrative structures; - inadequate implementation due to insufficient or delayed investment in the infrastructure required to safeguard the environment;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas, in order to ensure compliance with the Community principles which guarantee access to information, citizens’ participation and access to justice in environmental matters, the Commission intends to make good the deficiencies in those areas;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas tangible implementation inevitably raises problems; in 2008 alone, 23.5% (481) of all infringements of EU legislation related to the environment, indicating increasing damage to the environment and distortion of competition;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas, against this background, better implementation of European environment law specifically requires the introduction of corrective and preventive measures in key sectors on the basis of greater inter-institutional cooperation;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas, in addition to unsatisfactory implementation, there is a lack of precise information about environmental matters (which is also connected with other factors such as lack of resources or political will or unsatisfactory transposition into national law);
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas inter-institutional cooperation and dialogue must be improved, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas interinstitutional cooperation and dialogue go hand-in-hand with the urgent need for policies to be more consistent in terms of environmental impact in the context of post-2013 EU budget reform and all EU funding in the areas of social cohesion and agriculture;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas the need to consult regional and local authorities whenever European legislation is revised is a key factor in ensuring that environmental legislation is implemented in practice;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas effective implementation must be ensured by: - information: greater efforts to share best practices and regulatory experience, including the statistical monitoring of environmental legislation and infringements thereof, can lead to significant mutual benefits; - dissemination: thereby enhancing the impact and visibility of Community environmental programmes; - reorganisation of administrative structures: with a view to improving the collection of data, communication, and access to information at all levels of governance and every stage of the policy- making process, including investment in telematic equipment;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Deplores the fact that, although regional and local authorities have clear tasks in environmental protection, EU environmental legislation addresses Member States ‘only’, requests the designation of a ‘competent authority’ only (seldom ‘authorities’) and mentions cooperation only exceptionally;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses the need for coordination, complementarity and the elimination of gaps in the coverage of the various items of legislation which comprise European environment law;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Considers that, when EU environmental policies are formulated, regional and local authorities can strengthen the sense of cooperation and ensure the legislation is implemented more effectively;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points to the importance of providing regional and local authorities with financial support and technical guidance where environmental matters are concerned and also of adopting supplementary measures at EU level which are based on national best practices;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Endorses the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, which calls for the concept of multilevel governance to be applied to environmental matters; stresses that pilot activities involving tripartite contracts between the EU, the Member States and regional and local authorities should be stepped up;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that a more interinstitutional approach would make it possible for political and legal responsibilities in relation to environmental matters to be fully shared between the EU, the Member States and the local and regional authorities;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recognises that, by introducing simpler rules which are easier for the stakeholders involved to understand, and hence ensuring greater legal certainty, simplification could also help to reduce the incidence of errors and increase the safeguards provided by national implementing systems;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. With that end in view, deplores the Commission’s failure to ensure the completion of an exhaustive impact assessment of the administrative and regulatory burdens which would be imposed by any new EU initiative arising from the communication in question; urges the Commission, therefore, to do so;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Commission, consequently, to extend the global assessment of the impact of implementing environmental legislation properly and more effectively to include local and regional authorities; an additional means of ensuring the legislation was consistent and proportionate would be to require an impact assessment of any proposals for transposition which might place a strain on undertakings investing in the environmental sector;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points to the need to relax the market distortion rules where these act as a disincentive to environment-related investment and hence impede the implementation of European regulations; considers, therefore, that ways must be found to lower administrative costs directly, including for example: - the exchange of best practices; - avoiding ‘gold-plating’, in other words, the imposition of unnecessary burdens and obligations on SMEs; - e-government and digital solutions; - simplified and increasingly automated reporting procedures, generally involving web tools which enable beneficiaries to submit programmes to the authorities, keep all information in an electronic format and use the data which is held in public registers; this would reduce the problems connected with retaining information, the errors made when entering data and the effort involved in having to submit documents more than once;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need for European legislation to aim to tackle the causes of environmental damage by establishing rules concerning legal responsibility for environmental damage as well as corporate social responsibility; with that end in view, considers that it is essential to carry into effect all the initiatives designed to encourage and propagate greater corporate social responsibility in relation to environmental matters, which reflects the requirement for businesses to be receptive to the sustainable development strategy;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
the concept of ‘environmental information’ should be defined in both qualitative and quantitative terms;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes that, nowadays, environmental disputes (in other words any disputes or public demonstrations relating to actions by public- or private-sector stakeholders which could cause damage to the environment, public health or places where people live) have a significant impact on environmental protection and a wide range of social and economic implications; considers, therefore, that it would be useful to identify the most appropriate models of environmental justice so as to ensure that all the various issues are covered by the law;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Recommends, therefore, the pooling of knowledge between the respective judicial systems of the Member States which deal with infringements of, or failure to comply with, EU environmental legislation;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Reiterates its recommendation that the best practices of regional and local environmental protection systems should be extended to all the Member States, since this would encourage the development of national networks and robust administrative structures capable of widely disseminating the results achieved;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Considers that any prospective harmonisation of legal acts should be complementary to an alternative approach based on negotiation or non-judicial dispute resolution, which should include all the institutional negotiating channels and all possibilities of professional mediation;